What If
by CaptainKrueger
Summary: iCarly and senior year are coming to an end, and it has Carly thinking. She asks Freddie exactly why they never got back together, and Freddie gives her a somewhat candid answer.


**Disclaimer: I do not own ****_iCarly_**** or ****_How I Met Your Mother _****(which I make a reference to later on). **

"All right, bye, Gibby."

"Gibbeeeeh!"

"Yeah…um…bye. See you tomorrow!" Carly said sweetly before slamming the door to the iCarly studio shut as her strange friend finally left. She exhaled and leaned against the door whilst her friend Freddie Benson gathered his own things to leave and hummed the latest pop hit they had played excerpts of exactly three times that night for the show.

"Uhh, girrrl, the way you move, the way you move got me so…crazy!" Freddie sang in a scratchy falsetto in imitation of the original singer as he put equipment up.

Carly chuckled and crossed her arms as she watched her friend. He prided himself on the claim that he could both set up and take down the show with both eyes closed. Years of practice had made the master. To think that it was all coming to an end. Carly, Freddie, and Sam were seniors, and iCarly's days were numbered. Carly and Sam had made the announcement two weeks ago—Carly said they were ending soon because summer was coming up and they wanted to focus on grades and enjoy their last months at school; Sam had said that was a load of chizz and it was all about eating ham and avoiding jail time, forget the grades!

Differing plans aside, it all boiled down to the same thing: iCarly and school were coming to an end. Carly decided to keep herself busy with messing with the props—it was all she could do to keep the tears from coming. For years she and Sam had stood side by side and had entertained their audience with goofy tricks and skits, and Freddie had been the one to make this all possible. Carly snuck a glance at Freddie as he finished up. To think that he'd gone from her weird neighbor to her best friend, and for such a brief, brief time they had been a little more.

Freddie was going to college in California, and it had taken him months to convince his mother to stay put in Seattle. He was even dating someone, which was more than what Carly could say for herself. He was dating a girl named Carol-Lynn. Freddie seemed very happy with Carol-Lynn, and the two had met the previous summer at the Groovy Smoothie. "She's awesome, guys," Freddie had cheerfully told Carly and Sam one day. "She's pretty, smart, and she's actually into _Galaxy Wars_! She's my dream girl."

Carly, lips twisted in a quirky smile, had said, "I thought _I_ was your dream girl."

Freddie had snorted and said lightly, "Yeah, well, buried _that_ dead horse long ago!"

It hadn't taken Freddie long to ask Carol-Lynn out, and the two had been boyfriend and girlfriend, lovey-dovey ever since.

_"Buried that dead horse long ago!" _The statement got Carly thinking. "Hey, Freddie?" Carly asked, getting Freddie's attention.

Freddie smiled at her and asked, "Yes, Carly?"

Carly looked down at a toy horse they had set upon the silver table and picked the toy up for a second before setting it back down. She hesitated for another moment and then asked, "How come…how come you and I never got back together?"

"Well," Freddie said calmly, "it's because of various reasons, I think. Whatever way you choose to look at it, really."

"Oh?" Carly asked. "Like what?"

"Well, Aphrodite decided she was done pointing the two of us together, karma from a past life, it wasn't written in the stars, our chis are out of whack."

"Come on, Freddie," Carly said exasperatedly, partially because she didn't get what he was referencing. "Give me your real answer."

"I think maybe some greater force just didn't want it to happen and had other plans," Freddie said jokingly. He then laughed and said, "All joking aside, I think the reason is because I really was just your foreign bacon."

"You're bringing that up again?" Carly asked in disbelief.

Freddie put his hands in his pockets and boisterously blew air through his lips so they flapped and made a spluttering sound come through. "Think about it, Carly," Freddie insisted, as if tutoring someone and wanting them to think a problem over. "I told you that we should wait for the hero image to wear off, and if you were still interested, you and I could get back together. You claimed that you loved me, yet your never did come back, did you? Guys came and went for you, and you never once showed any interest in getting back together. Face it, Carly; it took me getting hit by a truck to get you to notice me. I was just foreign bacon to you, and I've never been more than that."

Carly gawped and picked the horse up again. "I… You never talked to me about it," she responded weakly.

Freddie let out a slight chuckle and said, "Foreign bacon, Carly. Sam and I lasted longer. _Sam._ You know how things were and have been with us."

"I know."

"So you want to know why you and I never got back together?" Freddie asked. "It just wasn't meant to be, and you just weren't interested. You were the Robin Scherbatsky to my Ted Mosby: you were my dream girl, but ultimately not the one for me. You know, I've thought about it. The what ifs. What if you and I had stayed together or had gotten back together? I've thought it over, Carly, and I think it wouldn't have ended well. We work as friends, but I'm just not your type of guy. I'm not rebellious enough for you or mysterious enough or even attractive enough."

"Wait," Carly said, "you think that I think you're unattractive?"

"No," Freddie said, shaking his head. "Just probably not cute enough. I remember how you told me about that awkward, geeky guy from the Pear store. You asked him out because you thought he was 'adorable.' Hm. Awkward, geeky, but cute. Bacon tastes good for a while, but eventually you want another breakfast meat."

Freddie, smiling, walked up to her and held his hand out for the toy horse. "I'll take that from you," he said and then tossed the horse into a box of old props that weren't to be used again. He looked back at her and asked, "So does that answer your question?"

Carly looked back at the box the horse had been thrown into, the box that was going to be given away because it was full of useless junk. She looked back at Freddie. _"I was just foreign bacon to you, and I've never been more than that."_ Carly swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I think so."

Freddie smiled and nodded. "All right, now that that's settled. I gotta get home. Night, Carly."

"Night, Freddie," Carly said as Freddie left the studio and closed the door behind him.

_"You were the Robin Scherbatsky to my Ted Mosby…"_

Carly exhaled, grabbed a roll of tape, and approached the box. So much had changed over the years.

_"You were my dream girl, but ultimately not the one for me."_

She got one last look at the horse before she sealed off the box with the tape.

_"We work as friends, but I'm just not your type of guy." _

Maybe it was for the best. Maybe it was good that they only remained friends since then. Carly just wondered why she _now _had a severe case of "What if?" What if Freddie was wrong? What if they _could _have worked out had they gotten back together? What if?

**AN: I believe that Freddie has probably dealt with as much, and maybe even more, crap as Gibby has. I don't want to possibly over exaggerate by saying he is ****_the_**** character that has dealt with the most shit in this series. Anyway. Because of my belief I've always enjoyed the idea of Freddie getting the upper hand in any damn situation. **

**I've had this idea in my head for quite a while, but I could never make it work out...until I saw the Pear store episode. (Okay, I don't watch this show regularly like I used to. In fact, I only watch it when I happen to catch it on the TV if I haven't seen the episode. Just letting you know.) And it really got on my nerves when Carly was so mesmerized by that employee who pretended to be awkward just because he was cute. And it just made me think. Freddie is cute, geeky, and slightly awkward like that employee, and yet he and Carly had never even ****_talked _****about getting back together after all the drama of "iSaved Your Life." And it made the ship that is Creddie die in my head once and for all. I also heard the brilliant song "Shake it Out" and it also gave me this idea. Like if this fic was an actual episode on TV, I'd have that song play as Freddie leaves the studio, satisfied with himself... Well... Anyway. Rant over.**


End file.
